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Beverage package, is it worth it?

molly5673

By molly5673,
in Royal Caribbean International

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CruiseAddict1982

CruiseAddict1982

Posted
Posted
The regular menu has Long Island, Long Beach and Italian Tea variations. All a bartender would have to do is substitute Peach Schnapps for the Triple Sec. I think the peach flavor would come out best in the Long Beach version, which substitutes cranberry juice and sprite for the sweet n sour mix and coke that are in a Long island. The Amaretto in the Italian version would not mix to well, IMHO with Peach Schnapps.

 

 

Ok cool! That should be included in the pAckage

 

 

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dianna_nc

dianna_nc

Posted
Posted

It's been almost 2 years since I've cruised so I just want to be sure I'm right about what drinks are still free onboard. I will be on Brilliance next week with my DH and our 2 boys (11 and 12). They can get water, lemonade, milk, chocolate milk.....correct? Is regular coffee free? And is there still OJ in the Windjammer in the morning? Sorry if this has been asked a million times already but we just booked 2 days ago and I'm trying to figure if we even need any drink packages. I would probably buy an alcohol package for myself if this was a cruise without the kids;)

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
It's been almost 2 years since I've cruised so I just want to be sure I'm right about what drinks are still free onboard. I will be on Brilliance next week with my DH and our 2 boys (11 and 12). They can get water, lemonade, milk, chocolate milk.....correct? Yes. Is regular coffee free? Yes. And is there still OJ in the Windjammer in the morning? Yes, an OJ drink, but not fresh squeezed. Sorry if this has been asked a million times already but we just booked 2 days ago and I'm trying to figure if we even need any drink packages. I would probably buy an alcohol package for myself if this was a cruise without the kids;)

See answers in RED above.

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AtlFamilyof4

AtlFamilyof4

Posted
Posted (edited)

sorry to add to this long 12 page post, but I wanted to ask all this in one place:

 

i am trying to figure out which package, if at all, to buy. Here are specifics:

 

1. I am not an alcoholic drinker (maybe 1 or 2 the whole week), but I would probably have a soda at dinner every night and maybe one other during the day (not really any coffee or juice, but would probably have at least 1 bottle of water every day - I would just refill it in the sink if needed)

 

2. my husband will have several beers (maybe more if he is playing poker) every day and a couple glasses of wine at dinner each night. He will also get bottled water, but no coffee or juice, and maybe a soda each day.

 

3. My kids won't have soda, but probably juice and bottled water each day.

 

So, I am confused as to what my best/cheapest option is. I haven't put into the equation about bringing our own wine either...

 

Also, do they put a limit on any drinks daily if you have the package?

 

Can someone shed a little light on this :)

Edited by AtlFamilyof4
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readytolose

readytolose

Posted
Posted (edited)
sorry to add to this long 12 page post, but I wanted to ask all this in one place:

 

i am trying to figure out which package, if at all, to buy. Here are specifics:

 

1. I am not an alcoholic drinker (maybe 1 or 2 the whole week), but I would probably have a soda at dinner every night and maybe one other during the day (not really any coffee or juice, but would probably have at least 1 bottle of water every day - I would just refill it in the sink if needed)

 

2. my husband will have several beers (maybe more if he is playing poker) every day and a couple glasses of wine at dinner each night. He will also get bottled water, but no coffee or juice, and maybe a soda each day.

 

3. My kids won't have soda, but probably juice and bottled water each day.

 

So, I am confused as to what my best/cheapest option is. I haven't put into the equation about bringing our own wine either...

 

Also, do they put a limit on any drinks daily if you have the package?

 

Can someone shed a little light on this :)

 

I would purchase the select package $40/day for your husband (beer, wine, soda and non alcoholic cocktails) assuming you think he will drink at least 6-7 glasses of beer or wine a day. If he won't drink that much, I would just skip the package and buy as you go!

 

For you and the kids I would just purchase as you go. I don't think a package would be much benefit to you. You can also carry on a case of bottled water if you need bottled water. Otherwise the water from the faucets is really good in my opinion!

Edited by readytolose
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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
If I bought the premium package can I get a real juice at breakfast? Do they have real apple juice?

You would need either the Replenish or Ultimate package to get fresh squeezed OJ. I don't think they have other fresh juices.

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Szzanni86

Szzanni86

Posted
Posted

This is the response I got from RCCL:

regard to your inquiry, water and soda are included in the Premium Package but juice is not included. Shots are not included in the packages and if you would like a call or premium cocktail over $10.00 in price you will be required to pay the difference and same for the wine. If you need further assistance please contact our Pre-Cruise Planner Department at 1-800-398-9819 and an agent will be happy to assist you.

 

The Premium Package, at $55 per guest each day, includes:

Call and premium cocktails (up to $10 value)

Frozen cocktails

Beers

Premium wine by the glass (up to $12 value)

Non-alcoholic cocktails (includes frozen varieties)

Still bottled water (500ml)

Fountain soda with souvenir Coca-Cola cup

20% discount on purchases of bottles of wine

 

 

 

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AeroBaldness

AeroBaldness

Posted
Posted
This is the response I got from RCCL:

regard to your inquiry, water and soda are included in the Premium Package but juice is not included. Shots are not included in the packages and if you would like a call or premium cocktail over $10.00 in price you will be required to pay the difference and same for the wine. If you need further assistance please contact our Pre-Cruise Planner Department at 1-800-398-9819 and an agent will be happy to assist you.

 

The Premium Package, at $55 per guest each day, includes:

Call and premium cocktails (up to $10 value)

Frozen cocktails

Beers

Premium wine by the glass (up to $12 value)

Non-alcoholic cocktails (includes frozen varieties)

Still bottled water (500ml)

Fountain soda with souvenir Coca-Cola cup

20% discount on purchases of bottles of wine

 

 

 

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Just when I thought it I had it all figured out. Thanks for the head up and the contact info. I would hope they stick to a shot being and single alcohol as even something like a B-52 technically qualifies as a cocktail. And I would hate to order an after dinner Bourbon neat and be told this is a "shot". I doubt it, but I'll try and run down answers.

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jahannah

jahannah

Posted
Posted

Don't worry too much about the shots. This appears to be just another case of poor training or communication by the Royal reps. Everyone who has come back from sailing with the package has said that shots were included, although the souvenir glasses were not.

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Quixotic

Quixotic

Posted
Posted

Just came off the Adventure of the Seas (B Cruise) and I had the Royal Replenish Package. Every bar seemed to treat me a little differently. The pool bar let me get a virgin frozen drink and a bottle of water (Evian, no less) at the same time. But the other bars would only let me get one drink at a time and god forbid I asked for the Evian! They would snort and hand me a smaller sized bottle of Crystal Geyser instead. I did break the rules and share a few of my virgin frozen drinks with the kiddos in the MDR (the kids only had the regular soda package, not the RR package) as treats.

 

I have no idea whether we got our money's worth or not. It seems like we should have. The kids were served cokes at dinner. After the first night, our server didn't ask to see the cards again. We were always immediately served. Same with the bar guy who walks around the MDR collecting drink orders. He didn't take my card the last couple of nights at all; just recalled that I had the RR package. Odd.

 

Neither my DH nor I drink alcohol, so that package wasn't useful to us.

 

One "trick" we learned is that we would use my RR-stickered seapass to get a bottled water from a bar on the promenade or the pool deck and then we would be able to get a second bottle of water from Deck 1 just before disembarking for a day in port. They don't scan the cards down there; they just write the numbers on a pad. I'm not sure that's really gaming the system, so much as fully leveraging it. I heard that it might only be 5 minutes between drink orders allowed with one seapass anyway, so maybe it takes 5 minutes to get down to deck 1 anyhow. But it's nice to walk off the boat with two bottles rather than one.

 

I didn't really drink much soda, but I loved getting bottled waters and the various frozen drinks. I really like their Frozen Lemonade on board.

 

I did get a somewhat hostile vibe from some of the strolling servers (especially on the pool deck) when I handed over my RR-stickered seapass in response to their offer to get me a drink from the bar. I'm not sure what that's about. It just seemed like I was getting the stink eye at times.

 

Anyway, that was our experience. I like not having any beverage tab at the end of the week, and I'm not going to do the mental math really to figure out whether it really went in my favor or not. :)

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mollyeilis

mollyeilis

Posted
Posted
They would snort and hand me a smaller sized bottle of Crystal Geyser instead.

 

 

I did get a somewhat hostile vibe from some of the strolling servers (especially on the pool deck) when I handed over my RR-stickered seapass in response to their offer to get me a drink from the bar. I'm not sure what that's about. It just seemed like I was getting the stink eye at times.

 

 

If you were getting a bottle of Evian bigger than 500ml, you were getting above and beyond what you were supposed to get. The "still" water should have been 500ml bottles.

 

On Freedom in January, I got *nervous* servers when I would order a bottle of water with my package AND a beer that I would be paying for, because they were worried I didn't know the beer wasn't included. I got the feeling as the cruise went on that there were MANY people who bought a package and hadn't a clue what it was for, and that they were having to deal with angry Replenish buyers time and time again. So if you were ordering alcohol along with your virgin drinks or waters or whatever, maybe that was it.

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Lachase

Lachase

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Posted

We also just returned from our first RCCL cruise (AotS), and didn't purchase a drink package and survived nicely. With only 1 sea day, we were mostly off the ship, with little time to make up the cost of the packages, unless we purposely over drank each night. I found the juice, water, lemonade, punch, and teas, supplied with the price of your package, adequate to be fulfilling. One really great bargain and fun thing is to try the drink of the day that is offered. For, I think, around $6.25 you get an interesting sizable mixed drink and get to keep the glass, as well. The glasses can be used as souvenirs later. Being first timers on RCCL, we didn't know what to expect, but you can be satisfied without the additional packages. It's a personal choice, and for those wanting to continually imbibe, or with particular tastes for products they must have, go for the packages, but you can be comfortable and satisfied with the regular offerings, I can attest.

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Charmdmsure

Charmdmsure

Posted
Posted
Don't worry too much about the shots. This appears to be just another case of poor training or communication by the Royal reps. Everyone who has come back from sailing with the package has said that shots were included, although the souvenir glasses were not.

 

Hi all! My DH and I just returned from Liberty ots a week ago we bought the highest package available. It did include shots. We had shots of baily's every morning in our lattes. It also included pretty much any drink I could come up with from the menu. My hubby discovered frozen long islands a those were covered too. You are not able to get a round of shots for the table, but who would expect you could?

 

Liberty has an amazing wine bar on the promanade, and we spend a lot of time sitting out front watching people stroll. We were never long without a glass of wine and the server was amazing. He was happy to serve us and we never got the feeling from him that our package was an inconvienience.

HOWEVER, we could not go above $12 without paying for the whole amount. He had no way of charging only the difference. There were discussions amongst us and he and other cruisers. The only way (im)possible would be to charge a glass with a similar amount and that would severely ascew the inventory. And how to charge a $18 glass? Add $6?? $6 glasses were covered. WE WERE COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH THE SITUATION. He learned our tastes, and we were never disappointed with the vintages he offered. If you are someone who regularly drinks $30 glasses of wine, you don't need the drink package IMO. :)

 

I can't tell you how much we saved. But I did love not having to sign a slip every order. The tips are included and now that I know that water was $3 a bottle, I'm certain we came out ahead. It was fair that they didn't allow you two drinks at a time but you can walk past a bar every 5 min if you really need to. We did collect water for our offshore jaunts, and kept a couple extra in our room.

An added bonus was the Cafe Promenade. All frozen coffe drinks and espressos were included. Yay! That saved us $15 a day alone. :)

 

We are not heavy drinkers. We do tend to drink more on vacation, but not to the point of drunk. I will certainly purchase the package again.

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AeroBaldness

AeroBaldness

Posted
Posted
Hi all! My DH and I just returned from Liberty ots a week ago we bought the highest package available. It did include shots. We had shots of baily's every morning in our lattes. It also included pretty much any drink I could come up with from the menu. My hubby discovered frozen long islands a those were covered too. You are not able to get a round of shots for the table, but who would expect you could?

 

Liberty has an amazing wine bar on the promanade, and we spend a lot of time sitting out front watching people stroll. We were never long without a glass of wine and the server was amazing. He was happy to serve us and we never got the feeling from him that our package was an inconvienience.

HOWEVER, we could not go above $12 without paying for the whole amount. He had no way of charging only the difference. There were discussions amongst us and he and other cruisers. The only way (im)possible would be to charge a glass with a similar amount and that would severely ascew the inventory. And how to charge a $18 glass? Add $6?? $6 glasses were covered. WE WERE COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH THE SITUATION. He learned our tastes, and we were never disappointed with the vintages he offered. If you are someone who regularly drinks $30 glasses of wine, you don't need the drink package IMO. :)

 

I can't tell you how much we saved. But I did love not having to sign a slip every order. The tips are included and now that I know that water was $3 a bottle, I'm certain we came out ahead. It was fair that they didn't allow you two drinks at a time but you can walk past a bar every 5 min if you really need to. We did collect water for our offshore jaunts, and kept a couple extra in our room.

An added bonus was the Cafe Promenade. All frozen coffe drinks and espressos were included. Yay! That saved us $15 a day alone. :)

 

We are not heavy drinkers. We do tend to drink more on vacation, but not to the point of drunk. I will certainly purchase the package again.

 

Fantastic post, thank you. I was wondering about having extra waters for the room or in the gym. I figured I'd try to grab a few extra here and there and it appears this will be possible.

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